The present invention relates to a motorcycle tire, more particularly to a tread pattern capable of improving high-speed stability and noise performance without sacrificing handling stability and drainage.
In recent years, according to the developments of high-powered motorcycles and expressway network, street motorcycle tires are required to provide improved handling and stability of the motorcycle.
In Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-291716, a motorcycle tire (a) is disclosed wherein as shown in FIG. 8, the tread portion (b) is provided with a tread pattern comprising a circumferential groove (d) disposed on the tire equator (c) and oblique grooves (e) extending straight from a tread central region to tread shoulder regions so that the change in the tread pattern rigidity from the tread central region to the tread shoulder regions becomes smooth and thereby the handling and stability can be improved.
In such a tread pattern, however, the circumferential rigidity of the tread central region becomes insufficient for the recent high-powered motorcycles and it becomes difficult to provide excellent high-speed stability. Further, during touring on well-paved smooth road surfaces with less engine power, the tread pattern noise is felt as being relatively large.